freelancerfandomcom-20200223-history
The Alliance - Coalition War
Introduction At present, humans reside in the Sirius sector, but the region itself was born out of strife. It has taken a long journey to the vague semblance of peace the region currently enjoys. The history of the Sirius sector begins approximately 800 years in the past, originating from humanity's home, Earth, in the Sol system. Few historical records remain which explain what exactly happened, but conventional history outlines the development of the fledgling sector. The Great War Before the great exodus from Sol, there had been a great war which had plagued the system for over one hundred years. There were two primary combatants in the war: the Eastern Coalition (led by Russia, China and the Arab States) and the Western Alliance (led by the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Japan, Italy and France.). The war started in the year 2160, and continued unabated for at least the next century, when the colony ships were launched and records from Sol end. Little is now known about how, or even why the war started, though some historians claim it was initiated with a massive surprise attack by the Coalition against the Alliance fleets. Millions died in a vast but inconclusive conflict until the Coalition gained the upper hand at last. The Italian and French fleets were utterly destroyed. Exodus When the Coalition arrived at one of Jupiter's moons with hostile intent, they were confronted with an impressive sight. The Alliance, in desperation, had constructed five "sleeper" colony ships in secret to carry a cargo of colonists in cryogenic suspension to a distant sector where it was hoped that they would escape the war which had divided the human race for so long. Each ship was christened after its patron nation: the ''Bretonia'' (Great Britain), the Rheinland (Germany), the ''Hispania'' (Spain), the ''Kusari'' (Japan) and the Liberty (the United States). As the Coalition attacked, the sleeper ships and their escorts managed to break through the blockade and made the jump to the Sirius sector. Arrival Upon arrival, each sleeper ship went their separate ways. The Liberty arrived in the center of the Sirius Sector, the first of the colony ships to arrive and claiming the central systems of the sector. The Hispania was sabotaged on its way to Sirius and was thought to be lost. The Bretonia was hit when she broke the Coalition blockade and arrived 20 years later in a resource-rich region of the sector. The Kusari came out of jump amid systems rich in water and H-fuel, though the local planets had little in the way of landmasses to establish settlements upon. The Rheinland arrived in a system whose best candidate for a colony was almost perpetually locked in a frigid winter. The colonists settled down on different planets in different systems, and without the influence of the war, began the process of rebuilding their societies. Eventually, contact was re-established between the disparate colonies. Although the history of Sirius has been plagued by hostilities and hardships, nothing on the scale of the great war has yet become reality. Rumours and Further Speculation There has been some speculation about what happened after the sleeper ships left, and that the Nomads showed up and destroyed the Sol system. A video found on the Freelancer Bonus Disc has been much cause for debate. Digital Anvil stated that it was the original intro for Freelancer, but was eventually scrapped. Some would suggest it was due to the video's similarity to the ending of Freespace 2, but that is speculation only, another, more likely reason for it being scrapped is that it gave away the threat of the Nomads too early. Due to the original intro being cut, it could mean that the events that occured within it are non-canon. Meaning that the Sol System could still be in existence, although it would be completely under Coalition control. According to a rumor from an Outcast on Planet Malta, there were actually 8 sleeper ships, and they departed from Pluto, not Jupiter. 3 of these supposed 8 ships were destroyed by the Coalition blockade, while the other 5 made it away unharmed, with the exception of the Bretonia, which was hit but not critically damaged. Because of the nature of this information, it could only be an Outcast legend, but it is also possible that when the Hispania was damaged, the inhabitants were prematurely awoken from slumber and, therefore, more readily able to keep accurate records of what happened leading up to the Exodus. If this is the case, 2 of the additional 3 sleeper ships were most likely designated to France and Italy. Links Freelancer Original Intro on Youtube Category:Game Concepts Category:History